“The Talk” returns Sept. 8 for its fifth season (2 p.m./Ch. 2), looking to build on last season, when it beat rival “The View” in women viewers — several times.

I asked co-hosts Julie Chen and Aisha Tyler, in New York Tuesday to promote “The Talk,” if winning the daytime crown in women viewers is this season’s goal — especially with “The View” in flux (and, as of Tuesday, with only Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell confirmed as co-hosts).

“Hopefully the ratings gods will continue to smile upon us, but who knows?” says Chen. “They’re veterans [at ‘The View’] and I never count them out. I don’t know what’s happening over there. Sometimes change is great and sometimes it’s not so great. I think they’re taking a big gamble and I kind of applaud that.”

“The Talk” isn’t resting on its laurels. For the first time, co-hosts Chen, Tyler, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood will live-tweet on the air and, like last season, will divulge personal secrets. (Chen revealed last season that, years ago, she’d had plastic surgery to make her eyes appear bigger.) “We want to continue what people are responding to,” says Chen.

“We respect each other deeply,” says Tyler, “and we’re really proud of the fact that when people watch us, it’s five kind, outspoken women … having the same kinds of discussions on the air that women at home are having with their own friends.”

Says Chen: “When you see people being hostile toward one another [on the air], there’s usually some self-loathing going on. There are no self-loathers at ‘The Talk’ — we don’t think we’re perfect, but we accept our own flaws and each other’s flaws.”

Stars … now and then

People magazine launches its new show “People Now” Wednesday on people.com. The 20-minute show, which will air weekdays at 8:30 a.m., is hosted by Jeremy Parsons and correspondent Abbi Crutchfield and will feature exclusive interviews, celebrity/entertainment news (’natch) and more. Guests this month include Michael Strahan, Joel McHale, Joe Manganiello and Petra Nemcova.

Speaking of celebrities, the story of one of this country’s first pop-culture icons, Harry Houdini, made a lot of hay Monday night on History. The premiere of “Houdini,” starring Adrien Brody as the famed escape artist, snared a healthy 3.7 million viewers at 9 p.m. — the year’s top miniseries premiere. Part 2 of “Houdini” aired Tuesday night with co-stars Kristen Connolly and Evan Jones.